1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to color compatibility between the decor of the interior of a motor vehicle and the color of the substrate forming a portion of the interior of the motor vehicle. In particular the present invention relates apparatus and methods for creating color compatibility between the paint or exterior coloring or decoration used on the interior of a passenger vehicle and the color of the substrate used for forming the interior of the passenger compartment.
2. Prior Art
It is well known that motor vehicles are designed and decorated for eye appeal. The interior of the driver/passenger compartment is especially designed and decorated for eye appeal, since the interior decor of the driver/passenger compartment is believed, by some vehicle marketing people, to be a major selling point in the sale of the vehicle. The major visual focal point of the interior of the driver/passenger compartment is that portion of the vehicle directly in front of the driver and front seat passenger, normally referred to as the steering wheel and steering column, the instrument panel and dash board. This portion of the vehicle's compartment appears to draw a large portion of the attention of persons in the purchasing market. The design and decor of the driver/passenger compartment of a vehicle is made to be comfortable, convenient and attractive, in eye appeal, for immediate sale purposes and for long range customer satisfaction in the purchased vehicle.
For many year the dash board of a vehicle, has been formed or fabricated using a substrate of fiber board or plastic. The substrate was covered with a soft padding material which had a "soft appearance". The padding covering the contoured surface of the dash board was originally added to the vehicle as a safety feature, to prevent or lessen the impact of a person being thrown forward as a result of a sudden or rapid stop of the vehicle. The padding on the dash board became a feature on the vehicle that was exploited in sales and advertising and soon became a feature that the purchasing public took for granted and even looked for in a motor vehicle.
More recently air bag assemblies have been introduced in motor vehicles. An air bag assembly, which includes the air bag retained in an air bag container with an air bag gate, through which the air bag is deployed, is mounted in the center of the steering wheel, in front of the driver of the vehicle and in the dash board in front of the front seat passenger of the vehicle. Most of the new motor vehicles marketed in the United States are equipped with one or more air bags which are used to prevent the person in front of whom the air bag is deployed, from coming in unwanted contact with that part of the vehicle immediately in front of such person, i.e., the steering wheel that is in front of the driver and the dash board, that is in front of the front seat passenger.
The driver side air bag is mounted in the center of the steering wheel and is deployed toward the head of the driver. The passenger side air bag is mounted in the dash board, essentially in front of the front seat passenger, and deployed toward the head and/or upper body of the front seat passenger.
An air bag is stored in an air bag container which includes an air bag gate through which the air bag is deployed. The air bag container is mounted with the air bag gate closed, and the surface of the gate flush with the surrounding surface of the steering wheel and dash board, respectively, so as to be compatible with the surrounding surfaces.
The use of a driver side air bag and a passenger side air bag in a vehicle obsolete the need for padding on the steering wheel and on the dash board. Further, padding normally used on the center of the steering wheel and on the dash board became a detriment to the deployment of air bags because the thick padding interfered with the air bag gate, during opening of the gate for deployment of the bag.
The removal of the padding material from the steering wheel and the dash board caused the surfaces on the steering wheel and the dash board to have a "hard" feel, which was substantially different from the "soft" feel people had become accustomed to and had expected in a motor vehicle. People purchasing new vehicles wanted the "soft" feel and the appearance of padding on the steering wheel and dash board.
In response to customer demand, a paint called Soft Swade paint was developed for use on the steering wheel and dash board of vehicles. Soft Swade paint is a trademark for a paint marketed by Sherwin-Williams Company of Chicago and is offered in different colors. It basically consists of Light Aromatic Naphtha, 4-Hydroxy, 4-Methyl, 2-Pentanone and Methyl Isobutyl Ketone. The paint, when applied to the surface of a steering wheel and/or to the surface of a dash board of a vehicle provides the appearance and "feel" of padding, without actual padding being added to these surfaces. Soft Swade paint appeared to provide the "look" and "feel" people demanded on the surfaces of the steering wheel and dash board of motor vehicles.
Soft Swade paint could be laid down in a relatively thin coat and was therefore applied to steering wheel and to dash boards in vehicles that had air bag assemblies mounted in the center of the steering wheel and in the dash board. This appeared to satisfy customers that demanded vehicles with air bag assemblies mounted in the steering wheels and in the dash boards and with steering wheel and dash board surfaces that "look" and "feel" as if the surfaces were padded. Using Soft Swade paint, manufacturers were able to lay down a thin coat of finish material on a surface over the air bag gate and the finish material did not interfere with the break out of the air bag from the container although the air bag passed through the finish material.
However, although Soft Swade paint has several desirable characteristics, it was found that Soft Swade paint, when applied to a surface and dried thereon, ruptured, cracked and chipped off the surface on which the paint was applied, when the surface was physically distorted. This translates into an undesirable condition. When Soft Swade paint is applied to and dries on the surface of the center of a steering wheel containing an air bag container gate or is applied to and dries on the surface of a dash board containing air bag container gate, portions of the paint will rupture, crack and chip off the steering wheel and off the dash board when the air bag gate opens to deploy the air bag. The rupture, cracking and chipping of the paint exposes the substrate on which the paint has been laid. It was found that when the cracking and chipping of the Soft Swade paint did occur, the steering wheel and/or the dash board of the vehicle became very unsightly because of the difference in the visible color between the finished surface of the steering wheel and/or the dash board and the visible color of the exposed substrate forming the respective component. When reference to color or visible color is made herein, one or more of the colors of the visible spectrum of light, for example, wavelengths of light in the range of 700 to 400 nanometers are intended to be included.
The problem of unsightliness of the exterior finish of the interior of a vehicle comes about because of the sharp contrast in color between the finished painted surface and the unpainted surface of the substrate where the paint chipped off the substrate. Although this condition may be temporary, because the chipped area can be repainted, it is a condition to be avoided because it has an adverse effect on customer satisfaction with the purchased vehicle and an adverse effect on repeat sales.